Last year, the South Carolina women's track team's performance at the Penn Relays was a prelude of great things to come.
The Gamecocks stormed the event, winning the 4x100m relay, the 4x400m, 400m hurdles and the shuttle hurdle relay. Five weeks later, they were crowned NCAA champions for the first time in school history -- in any sport.
This weekend, the Gamecocks who were ranked No. 1 in the preseason by Trackwire.com -- get their chance to mix it up against the juggernauts of the women's track world, Louisiana State and Texas.
The Tigers and Longhorns have 12 and three NCAA titles, respectively, in women's track alone.
"I think our kids recognize that to be the best, you have to be able to compete with the best," South Carolina coach Curtis Frye said. "And so when we face them, we know we're going against the best."
A newcomer to that elite class of female runners is the Longhorns' Sanya Richards.
The freshman from Saint Aquinas High School in Fort Pembroke Pines, Fla., set a high school outdoor record in the 400m with a time of 50.69 seconds.
Longhorns coach Bev Kearney considers Richards one of the best freshmen she has ever had.
"She's run faster than anybody we've ever had as a freshman," Kearney said. "She's broken school records of seniors."
Richards also anchored Texas' winning 4x400m squad at the NCAA Indoor Championships. The Longhorns edged the Gamecocks 3:27.66 to 3:28.25. The 3:27.66 was a record-breaking time.
"Whether they're doing good or bad, they always fight back and that's what makes them special," Kearney said, regarding the record-setting quartet of Richards, Keasha Downer, Raasin McIntosh and Moushaumi Robinson.
Texas enters hoping to end a dry spell as it has not won an event at the Penn Relays since taking the sprint medley in 2000.
Despite Texas' prospects for a win in the sprint medley, the field is loaded. Under the direction of first-year head coach J.J. Clark, Tennessee could challenge the Longhorns.
The Lady Vols will be anchored by Nicole Cook, who finished second in the NCAA Indoor Championships in the 800m in 2:05.19.
LSU won the event last year, but lost to the Longhorns earlier this season at the Texas Relays.
In the 100m dash, LSU junior Muna Lee is the favorite. Her sights are set on a third straight Penn Relays title in the sprint.
Another individual to watch is the Gamecocks' Lashinda Demus. Last year, Demus won the 400m hurdles at the Penn Relays.
She went on to set collegiate records in the event at the NCAA and World Junior championships.
In the 4x800m and distance medley relays, No. 6 Florida and No. 5 North Carolina are both aiming to three-peat. The Tar Heels could also repeat in the 4x1500m.
Not surprisingly, success at Franklin Field in the recent past has translated into national recognition for the programs.
"You get more exposure than you're going to get at any time during the year," Frye said. "We know the value of winning the Penn Relays and those [other] relays in the recruiting war, from a coaching standpoint.
"The schools that dominate the relays over the years have been Texas and LSU, and they've dominated the recruiting over the years."
The LSU women's track team has 23 all-time Penn Relays wins, second behind Villanova's 26.
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